


You Found Me

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Lost then Found [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7422481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On their 10th wedding anniversary, Robin and Regina retell the story of how they got engaged.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Found Me

“It’s so strange to think of you two as anything but married,” Snow says as she slides into the booth, pushing a plate with a slice of cake on it toward Robin and Regina. Regina laughs and shakes her head as Robin’s hand falls over hers. He gives it a light squeeze as his eyes meet hers. It amazes her sometimes that he still looks at her this way—eyes so soft and full of love, looking at her as if she’s the only one he sees—even after all these years. “You know,” Snow begins, as she cuts her fork into her own slice of cake. “It’s been _ten years_ and I don’t think you ever told me how it happened.”

“You were there,” Regina says flatly, her eyebrow arching as she looks back at Snow. “You were _at_ the wedding.”

“I _know_ that I was at _your wedding_ ,” Snow says, rolling her eyes as a grin forms over lips. “I’m talking about the _proposal_. You’ve never told me how Robin asked you.”

“Ahh, well there’s good reason for that,” Robin says, chuckling softly as he gives Regina’s hand another quick squeeze. “I never asked her.”

Regina grins as Snow’s eyes grow wide. “What do you mean you _didn’t ask_?” Snow’s brow continues to furrow as she looks between them. “I saw the ring.” She blinks. “She’s _wearing it_ right now.”

“There was a ring…” Regina muses, enjoying Snow’s obvious confusion. “But he didn’t ask.”

A smile edges on Robin’s lips. “Regina asked me.”

“And then you made him buy you a ring!?”

Robin and Regina both laugh out and once more exchange glances, before a smile twists onto Regina’s lips—it’s been so long since she’s thought about that night, yet the memory warms her heart. “No, I…found the ring he’d already bought.”

Robin goes onto explain that Roland had lost his favorite stuffed toy—the monkey Regina had given him during the year they’d spent together in the Enchanted Forest and they’d torn the house apart in their search. Henry had taken Roland upstairs to distract him while they continued to look; and in the midst of their search, Regina had stumbled upon the ring.

“I hadn’t actually planned on asking,” Robin adds. “Not then anyway…”

“We hadn’t even talked about marriage at that point.”

Snow blinks. “How could you not have talked about marriage? Since the moment the two of you met, you were practically married.”

“That’s not the _point_ ,” Regina says, rolling her eyes at Snow’s embellishment—though she finds it completely endearing.

It’s no secret that her relationship with Robin had gone backwards by traditional standards. Their relationship started not out of a need for companionship or love, but from a loss of it—he had been mourning Marian and she’d been missing Henry—and Roland had taken a liking to the once formidable Evil Queen. Robin had encouraged the relationship, allowing her to cuddle Roland by the fire and tuck him in at night, allowing her to take him on walks and tell him stories. She’d once asked why he allowed it—he most certainly didn’t owe her anything—and he’d respond with a soft grin and told her it was because she had a mother’s touch, something he’d like his son to know. In some ways, they’d been a family before they’d been a couple.

It progressed from there a bit more naturally; but when they second curse was broken and Henry’s memories were restored, they’d jumped ahead of the timeline again and the four of them became a unit. Robin and Roland moved in quickly, and they simply jumped into the domestic side of their relationship, enjoying family time over dates, and the companionship that came from having a partner to help raise their sons.

“The _point_ was I’d found the perfect woman and the perfect ring—I was just waiting for the perfect moment.”

At that, Regina feels a smile tugs at the corners of mouth as Robin goes on to explain that even after she found the ring, they’d decided that that wasn’t the moment. He’d wanted to buy her flowers and make her dinner, to greet her at the door with a flute of champagne, for them to surrounded by candles—instead, they’d found themselves in the living room, the with winter garments strewn across the room, and they were exhausted after a long day. He’d wanted to plan a speech, explaining all the reasons he’d fallen in love with her before he dropping down onto his knee and finally asking her to be his wife. Instead, she’d stood shocked with the ring box in her hand as he grappled with his words.

They’d gone upstairs to reunite Roland with his stuffed monkey, and to kiss the boys goodnight. Robin smiles, remembering how Roland had been cuddled into Henry’s side; and he remembers how he and Regina had stood holding on to one another in Henry’s room, watching the boys sleep in a moment that was so peaceful and content.

“That’s what I realized that maybe it didn’t have to be a planned thing—nothing else about our relationship was planned,” Regina says, looking over at Robin and giving his hand a tight squeeze as her smile deepens. She remembers how she’d asked him to go downstairs and make sure they’d locked the doors, giving herself enough time magically set the scene.

When he’d returned upstairs, the bedroom was aglow with candles and there was a bottle of expensive champagne chilling on the nightstand.  She’d been waiting there when he entered, his jaw dropping as he looked around and she’d smiled as his eyes came to focus on her. She’d told him that life had taught her that there were no perfect moments—but what they had felt pretty perfect to her.

“And then…I asked him,” she concludes. “And he said yes.”

“Oh, that’s _such_ a sweet story,” Snow says, looking between them as tears well in her eyes.

Regina smirks and nods—her step-daughter had always been a hopeless romantic, but she had to admit, it was a sweet story, and she was glad that the story was hers. Looking over at Robin, she finds that he, too, is smiling with love and nostalgia in his eyes. He lifts her hand and presses a soft kiss to it, and she can’t help but think of how glad she is that he found her and that he was so willing to love her—and she can’t help but think that he feels the same about her. 


End file.
